Friday Must Reads: One Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Is Dead; Massive Manhunt for His Brother

1. Authorities shot and killed one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects earlier today, and are conducting a massive manhunt for his younger brother as the Boston area remained on lockdown this morning, The New York Times$ reports. The suspects are identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, and are said to be of Chechen descent. Police shot and killed Tamerlan after the brothers had allegedly killed an MIT campus police officer late last night. The young men’s motive for setting off the bombs at the marathon remains unclear.

Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev

2. Home prices soared again last month in the Bay Area, as buyers continued to outbid each other for a small number of units on the market, the Merc reports. The feeding frenzy sent the median home price in Alameda County to $445,000 in March — a 22 percent increase over a year ago, and 11 percent higher than in February.

3. The University of California, desperate for cash, has once again accepted more out-of-state and international students for the fall of 2013, an increase of 21 percent over 2012, the Chron$ reports. At the same time, the UC system has accepted fewer California students for 2013 than it did last year. Out-of-state and international students pay much higher tuition, and thus generate more money for UC, than in-state students.

4. The American Indian charter schools have spiraled into chaos in recent weeks as the three high-performing schools head toward closure at the end of this school year, the Chron$ reports. The charter schools have fired a series of administrators and board members and are in turmoil following the decision last month by the Oakland school board to revoke the schools’ licenses following a multi-million-dollar financial scandal.

5. Alameda County prosecutors have decided to charge the 16-year-old boy who allegedly shot and killed an off-duty paramedic in the Oakland hills as an adult, the Trib reports. Christian Burton is charged with murder in what authorities said was an attempted carjacking gone wrong.

6. California leads the country in solar-power-related jobs, with 43,700, or nearly 37 percent of the national total, the SacBee$ reports.

7. And the Chron$ has a must-read story today on the habits of cougars, as sightings of the big cats have increased substantially in California in recent years.